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Forum:CT:Canon
Wookieepedia strives to be the Internet's foremost comprehensive resource for Star Wars canon information. To this end, Wookieepedia at all times adheres to the canon doctrines set forth by Lucasfilm Ltd. and its subsidiaries. On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that all Expanded Universe material is now reorganized under the non-canon "Legends" banner to make way for the "new canon" to take place. The new canon began on screen with the Star Wars Rebels animated television series and in print with the novel A New Dawn. Under the direction of the Lucasfilm Story Group, all elements of Star Wars canon now operate in a unified and collaborative storytelling setting. New canon The "new canon," which was set forth on April 25, 2014 and which is overseen by the Lucasfilm Story Group, exists in a connected, "one universe" continuity. This means that, beginning with the Star Wars Rebels animated television series and the 2014 novel A New Dawn, all officially-licensed Star Wars storytelling from this point forward stands on equal canon footing. This differs significantly from the previous system of Star Wars canon, in which George Lucas's personal projects—namely, the six films of the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, and the ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' television series—took absolute precedence over any Expanded Universe material. What is considered an official canon resource? Lucasfilm Ltd. identifies the six films of the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series as the "immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align." The following list identifies what is now considered official canon: *The Star Wars original trilogy films—''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi *The Star Wars prequel trilogy films—''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith *The ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' television series and film. *The Star Wars Rebels television series and its supplementary source material *Information found in the StarWars.com Encyclopedia *All officially-licensed source material released following the September 2, 2014 novel A New Dawn. Please see below for specific exceptions. Are any elements of the Expanded Universe still canon? Although the Expanded Universe has been relegated to non-canon "Legends" status, Lucasfilm considers all Expanded Universe material to be a "resource" of information that any author may freely draw upon for "new canon" stories. In the event an Expanded Universe subject appears or is mentioned in a new canon story, that subject becomes official canon once again. However, that does not necessarily mean that the subject's entire previous Expanded Universe history regains canon status. Wookieepedia contributors must take care to treat as canon only elements of a subject presented within the confines of new canon source material. What about...? Certain sources previously released as Expanded Universe material remain unclear as to whether they are now considered to be canon. Based on statements made by Lucasfilm senior editor Jennifer Heddle, Wookieepedia considers the following. This section may require updating as Lucasfilm releases new updates. *The canon status of Fantasy Flight Games' ongoing roleplaying system, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, is undetermined. Heddle states, "We'll figure it out." *Film novelizations, film junior novelizations, and the ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' film novelization are unclear. *Heddle theorizes that Star Wars: The Clone Wars tie-in novels and comics, such as The Clone Wars: No Prisoners and Clone Wars Gambit: Siege, are only canon if they are directly based on something that was in the show itself. For example, the comic Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir is canon because it was adapted directly from a script for the show. *Heddle supposes the films Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle of Endor, and the television series Star Wars: Droids, Star Wars: Ewoks, and Star Wars: Clone Wars are non-canon. *Heddle assumes that the Old Republic era is non-canon, but she notes "that's something we've wondered ourselves" and that "I guess we'll see." She also assumes the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic is non-canon, but she is uncertain, since the game is still ongoing. Expanded Universe The Expanded Universe, which is generally considered to have begun in 1978 with the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, existed until April 25, 2014, when Lucasfilm declared its content to be non-canon, organized under the "Legends" banner, in preparation for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Although George Lucas permitted the Expanded Universe to run parallel to his personal Star Wars creations, he never considered its stories to be part of his official canon. As explained by Pablo Hidalgo in the 2012 The Essential Reader's Companion, "Though these Universe stories may get his stamp of approval, they don't enter his canon unless they are depicted cinematically in one of his projects. That said, unless something occurs in a canon project to directly contradict a published source, it can reliably be said to have occurred." According to Lucasfilm senior editor Jennifer Heddle, the Expanded Universe still exists as a non-canon resource for Star Wars authors, who may use any Expanded Universe subject in a new canon work. In the event an Expanded Universe subject is referenced in a new canon work, that subject becomes official canon once again. However, the subject's previous Expanded Universe history does not necessarily become canon. Heddle confirms that the Expanded Universe now basically stands as a non-canon alternate universe and that no new stories will be added to the Expanded Universe line of continuity. Holocron continuity database In 2000, Lucas Licensing, through the Holocron continuity database, as overseen by Leland Chee, began categorizing all Expanded Universe content into a tiered hierarchy of canon. This system applied a limited degree of canonicity to Expanded Universe stories, though they remained absolutely subordinate to Lucas's personal canon. Chee created the following classification system, which no longer applies: *'G-canon', or George Lucas canon: The six Star Wars films in their most recent incarnations, including unpublished production notes from Lucas or his production department. Elements originating with Lucas in the film novelizations, reference books, and other adaptations. Direct declarations made by Lucas. Deleted scenes from the films that do not conflict with the film itself. *'T-canon', or Television canon: The Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, its feature film, and the Star Wars Rebels animated series. *'C-canon', or Continuity canon: The majority of Expanded Universe stories, including novels, comics, video games, and other content originating from other authors. C-canon material could be elevated to G-canon if a subject appeared in a Lucas project. *'S-canon', or Secondary canon: Material that could be used or ignored as desired by authors, including older works that predated a concentrated effort to maintain a consistent continuity, such as the ''Marvel Star Wars'' comics. Anything that is not completely outrageous or intentionally comic. *'N-canon', or Non-canon: "What-if" stories, including those published under the Infinities label. Any content directly and irreconcilably contradicted by higher canon. Cut content and canceled projects. This was the only level that Lucasfilm did not consider to have some degree of canonicity. *'D-canon', or Detours canon: The Star Wars Detours animated series, which was not released before the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014. This canon level was never fully defined as a result. With Lucasfilm's creation of a single, unified continuity that excludes the Expanded Universe, this canon hierarchy system is now defunct. All content that was previously considered to be below T-canon is now non-canon, unless it is referenced in a new canon work. Wookieepedia contributors may still apply this system as needed when writing a Legends article in order to determine conflicting "canonicity" in regards to a given Expanded Universe subject. Because the Expanded Universe is so closely intertwined with the six Star Wars films and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and feature film, Wookieepedia contributors must fully incorporate these works into Legends articles, even though these works are now officially considered to be part of the new canon and therefore unconnected to the Expanded Universe. Reliable resources As Wookieepedians write Legends articles, they will still draw upon the wealth of Expanded Universe source material, as they always have, to properly and comprehensively document a Legends subject. To this end, the same standards apply in regards to using reliable and valid Expanded Universe resources. The following identifies reliable, officially-licensed sources of information for Expanded Universe material. This section may be revised as necessary and is not necessarily comprehensive. *The six Star Wars films of the original trilogy and prequel trilogy (with the 2011 Blu-ray release being the films' most recent and therefore canon incarnations in regards to the Expanded Universe), the ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' film, and all spinoff films created prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014 *The ''Star Wars: Droids'', Star Wars: Ewoks, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' television series and related material *All StarWars.com online content, defunct and otherwise, published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, including but not limited to, the Databank, Encyclopedia, Message Boards, Star Wars Hyperspace, and ''Star Wars'' Blog *All other official Star Wars online content, defunct and otherwise, such as HoloNet News and swtor.com *All novels, junior novels, reference books, sourcebooks, and other books published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014 *All Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, with specific exceptions as noted by Lucasfilm, such as the Star Wars: Rebel Heist and ''Star Wars: Legacy'' Volume 2 series *All video games, video game manuals, official strategy guides, and official related websites released or published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, with any specific exceptions as noted by Lucasfilm *All West End Games, Wizards of the Coast, and Fantasy Flight Games roleplaying material, both online and print, published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, with any specific exceptions as noted by Lucasfilm *All Star Wars magazines, such as Star Wars Insider, Star Wars Gamer, Star Wars Official Poster Monthly, and The Official Star Wars Fact File, published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, with any specific exceptions as noted by Lucasfilm *All trading card game material and websites, defunct and otherwise, published prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014, such as the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and Star Wars: The Card Game, with any specific exceptions as noted by Lucasfilm *Kenner and Hasbro action figures and toys, including packaging descriptions *Official Lucasfilm decrees made by such authoritative individuals as George Lucas, Leland Chee, and Dave Filoni regarding the content of the now-defunct Holocron continuity database *All other Lucasfilm promotional material and decrees issued through social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, prior to the Lucasfilm declaration of April 25, 2014 What is not a reliable resource? *Fan-fiction, otherwise known as fanon, in any form *Conjecture and assumptions based on real-world standards *Fan websites and message boards *Video game elements that appear only when triggering a non-canon storyline. For example, characters who appear when the Jedi Exile is male or when Kyle Katarn chooses the dark-side ending. However, these details nonetheless originate in officially-licensed sources and must therefore be documented within an article's "Behind the scenes" section where appropriate. The same holds true for non-canon Infinities stories. What is unclear? Certain Expanded Universe source material was of an unclear or ambiguous canon nature. Because the Expanded Universe is now non-canon and will no longer be receiving new additions to its line of continuity, Lucasfilm is unlikely to make any further clarifications regarding this ambiguous material. Wookieepedians must carefully consider how best to present this information within the confines of a Legends article. *''Star Wars Tales, issues 1-20. The stories appearing in these issues were labeled as Infinities and should be considered non-canon unless referenced by other source material. Similar conditions apply for the rest of the ''Star Wars Tales run; please see the Star Wars Tales article for specific clarifications. *Unlicensed sources *Comments made by Lucasfilm personnel other than George Lucas and Leland Chee. Statements of authorial intent and information released by authors to clarify details of their works may or may not have been canon. *Alternative outcomes and side quests in video games and roleplaying games, such as the fate of the droid C8-42-GE3 in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic *Information from cut content was usually considered non-canon but in some cases may have been confirmed as canon